May 16, 2015 - For the past 26 years (1989),
Data Transformation Corp (DTC) and Computer
Sciences Corp (CSC) were the only two companies
contracted out by the FAA to provide a computer
interface to the FAA's Direct User Access
Terminal Service (DUATS), a weather information
and flight plan processing service.

DTC unsuccessfully lost its bid with the FAA as
a DUATS II provider. The contract was recently
awarded to Lockheed Martin. Lockheed and CSC
will be the two providers on one-year,
fixed-price contract with up to four one-year
contract renewals.

Lockheed Martin with begin providing weather
information and flight plan processing service
to pilots and other authorized users on May 17.
The service will continue to be free and pilots
will be able to login at www.1800wxbrief.com.
Lockheed Martin will provide videos at the
website to assist new users under How-To Videos.
More than 5,000 certified pilots across North
America, including parts of the
Caribbean, log into DUATS multiple
times daily to obtain weather briefings and file
flight plans.

AOPA has asked the FAA to gather user input to
ensure that any changes to future flight
services, such as increased automation, meet
user needs. AOPA also wants to be sure that
robust safety-of-flight information continues to
be available at no charge to users, various
elements of the flight services network interact
seamlessly, and pilots using third-party flight
planning services can easily file their plans
with the FAA from within those flight planners.

The DUAT Service provides direct access to
weather information via a National Airspace
System (NAS) Data Interchange Network II
(NADIN-II) interface to the Weather Message
Switching Center Replacement (WMSCR) System and
the Air traffic control (ATC) Facilities for
filing flight plans. The pilot users can
interface the DUAT Services through its toll
free telephone numbers or via an Internet
Interface into the FAA's contractor's facility.